Chapter 2

Axel

I watched as Liam took off his clothes and let them fall to the ground with a thud, creating a pool of water. The bathroom was a mess, just like the house was, Mom was gonna kill me, and the thought of going downstairs and finding all that mess, made me shiver all over my body, I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully that night knowing that there was all that mess just a few steps away from me.

I sighed and I crossed my arms to my chest as Liam tied a towel around his waist and another one wrapped it around his hair. 

Liam still had red eyes and dilated pupils. If there was one thing that I hated, it was hard drugs, I didn’t care if he did a few joints every now and then, but hard drugs were another story, they disintegrated you from the inside, and they weren’t the right solution to any problems.

"Why?" I asked as Liam stood with one hand at the sink while the other held the towel in his hair.

"There’s no specific reason, I didn’t think. Stop," Liam replied with a hoarse voice.

"You didn't think," I said, "Didn’t you even think about your sister? What about taking care of her?" I asked feeling anger wrap around me completely.

How could he be so irresponsible?

"Emma can take care of herself, she can do that when she spread her legs for everyone I don’t think she needs me to get home," Liam said.

My body stretched and I clenched my teeth so hard that I felt the taste of blood in my mouth, I did not like to hear these things about Emma, even if it was his own brother, all the more reason.

"What a dumb you are," I commented, fist to fist to prevent them from colliding with his face, "You can go to Adam’s room, or do you want me to tuck you with the blanket, you asshole?".

"I can do it," he sighed as he looked in the mirror.

"I’ll get you some clothes," I said before I got out of the bathroom and headed to my room. 

Before I stopped in Ali’s room and knocked violently at the door "Get up in five minutes or I’ll break down the door" I threatened her.

I went to the room and I took a pair of boxers and shorts, and then I took them to Liam’s bathroom, and I left them on the sink and I closed the door, in time to see the door to Ali’s room open and she goes out with her tousled hair and short pajamas while rubbing her sleepy eyes.

I leaned against the wall and heard other noises behind her and then I saw Miles coming up behind her, just as sleepy and tired.

Ali looked at me, with bored eyes "What’s up?"

I raised an eyebrow, "You wanted this goddamned party, and now you’re gonna get up and help me clean it up," I said, moving from the wall to the stairs.

"Can’t you wait till morning?" Alison yelled at me.

"I couldn’t sleep knowing there’s that mess downstairs," I said as I walked down the stairs.

"Why don’t you clean? Why do you have to wake me?" complained Alison.

"If I don’t sleep, nobody sleeps," I answered, going to the kitchen.

I took a garbage bag and started collecting all the paper cups around the kitchen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my sister begin to collect those on the ground followed closely by Miles who, silently and like a little dog, began to clean him too. After a few minutes, Liam also came down and, with his eyes still red, began to help us clean.

"What the fuck did you do?" my sister blurted, looking at our cousin.

"Leave me alone," Liam replied, snorting.

"Alison, clean up" I ordered.

I heard her snort, but she kept doing what I asked. I took the bag full and carried it out, leaving it inside the nerd, as I walked down the driveway to the door he felt the phone vibrate in his pocket so I took it and pulled it out finding a message from Emma.

Liam? She was just asking.

He’s helping me clean up.

At this time Ax?????

I can’t sleep knowing there’s so much shit going on.

Go sleep in the hotel hahahahaha.

I found myself smiling at his messages and blocking myself at the front door.

And leave the house to my crazy sister? I couldn’t sleep anyway.

You have to do something about this control problem

It’s part of my charm.

Oh yes ahahahahah.

A sense of peace pervaded me as I spoke with Emma, sighed, and sat down on the steps of the porch.

Seriously, is Liam okay? Isn’t it better if he pukes?

I don’t think so, I’m sure whatever she took is wearing off already.

I’m worried, Ax, why did my brother get like this?

I don’t know, but I promise I’ll talk to you tomorrow morning as soon as we wake up, okay?

I’m counting on you.

I sighed and looked at the sky, the stars were seen high in the sky. My phone vibrated in my hand and I immediately looked down, thinking it was Emma again, only to find a message from Megan.

How about lunch tomorrow?

She just asked like it was nothing. The truth was, I loved women who were okay with it, but I wasn’t sure Megan was the one for me. It would have been weird, we grew up together, I never thought about her like that even though I knew she always had a thing for me and maybe I took advantage of it sometimes even though I never did anything about it because I knew Liam was in love with her, I never thought about that possibility, but now Liam was with his head somewhere else, he wasn’t thinking about Megan, maybe I could give myself the luxury of thinking about her that way but still, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted, but she seemed to know exactly what I wanted.

I have to stay with Liam tomorrow to clean up his mess.

I sent the answer and looked back at the sky, Megan’s response took a while to arrive.

Then tomorrow night Dare, and I will not accept a no as an answer! At seven you will pick me up!

I smiled as I read his answer and sighed and then I got up and went back to the house to finish cleaning up the disaster created by the people.

****************

Dawn was dawning when we finally finished cleaning. I arranged the last bottles, placing them all at a precise distance and in size. Everything was symmetrical as I liked. I looked at the kitchen and sighed satisfied, feeling my body relax in seeing everything neat and clean, I needed it like the oxygen I breathed.

I turned and saw no one around me, so he went out of the kitchen and I went to the main hall where, lying on the different sofas, I found the three musketeers.

My sister was sitting upside down in the chair, her legs stretched out on the back and her head dangling, her black hair brushing the floor while she had her eyes closed and her arms crossed at the chest.

Liam was completely passed out on the sofa in front of the fireplace. His arms stretched over his head, his mouth wide open and his hair tousled. He snored slightly, a sign that he was completely gone.

Miles, on the other hand, was sitting on the other sofa, with his legs stretched out on the coffee table and his cell phone in his hand, writing frantically on the keyboard.

"All clean, now I can sleep peacefully," I said, throwing myself next to Miles.

"After you didn’t let anyone sleep, you psycho" my sister commented, her eyes closed.

"If you don’t want the Axel psycho to come out, avoid these parties," I said, grabbing the pillow and throwing it.

"I don’t think you complained when you ended up with the blonde in the bathroom," Alison commented.

"Since I was there I took advantage," I said with a sigh "Sorry but I’m going to sleep," I said getting up from the couch and yawning "If you have to fuck please be quiet" I commented going up the stairs and leaving in my room even though I heard them mumbling something.

My phone rang again, it was Mom.

I saw you online, Is everything okay? My mom was asking me.

I was cleaning. I answered as I entered my room.

I took off my shirt and threw it on the floor and then went into the bathroom and turned on the water. The phone on the sink rang and I saw that it was mom so I answered immediately.

"Clean up at this time, Ax?" Mom said immediately.

"I couldn’t sleep. You guys were okay? Adam?" I asked as I took off my pants and put them in the laundry basket.

"All right, Adam’s fine. I hope you didn’t wreck my house, Axel." 

"Who do you think you’re talking to?"

"Reckless," replied Mom, laughing, "At least I was right not to leave Alexa with you," she sighed.

"Does she miss me crazy?" I asked as a smile surfaced on my lips at the thought of my little princess.

My mother sighed, "She’s already bought you some presents, make sure you like them"

"I like everything my sister gives me," I said, laughing, "Dad?"

"In the shower"

"Does he want me to check something in the office?" I asked without being able to stop the excitement from pervading my body.

I loved going to my dad’s office, I did it when I was a kid, every time I had holidays at school, I would stand in there and watch him work and solve his cases for hours on end, dreaming that one day I would be in his place. The thought of me missing my final exams and then going to work with him, my heart was pounding in my chest and I couldn’t wait. Dad had already prepared me with the necessary, with a lot of offices even if at the beginning I would follow the cases with him.

"No, Axel’s no good. Enjoy these weeks before you start, think about finishing your final exams then you can lock yourself in the office with your father, as far as I’m concerned you can sleep there too" commented the angry Mom.

The truth is that Mom had always hoped that I would take the same path, even if she had never forced me, just as Dad had not done, they had always let me choose, as they had done with Alison. I just always felt more comfortable with Dad’s work. Maybe because I grew up admiring him and hoping to become like him someday, or maybe because it was just my calling.

This did not mean that Mom had not given fastidious. She wanted at least one of us to follow in her footsteps, she had taken so many years to open her studio, and she didn’t want to leave it in the hands of a stranger, even though I knew Noah spent a lot of time with her, As did Adam, who was now in Canada studying medicine, for Mom’s pride.

"Then who will you vent to when Alison drives you crazy?"

"I can always call you," she said, laughing, "About her, where is your sister Axel? You know you have to control and protect her."

"I don’t think she needs protection, But. Anyway, I left her down after cleaning, Liam also stayed down, passed out on the couch," I commented.

"Is he all right?"

"Oh yes, just sleep," I said with a sigh, "Now I’m off."

"Well, good night, Axel," my mother said and hung up.

I sighed and got in the shower. After I washed away the residue from that stupid party, he dressed me up and threw me back into bed, not before I left a message for Liam telling him not to leave when he woke up. I needed to talk to him, I promised Emma, and I was always trying to keep my promises.